ABSTRACT
In multicomponent reactions (MCRs) more than two reactants form a single product. Typically, all of the atoms of the starting materials get incorporated into the adduct, making MCRs highly atom efficient. MCRs have recently gained popularity for this efficiency as more and more chemists focus on green chemistry and minimizing the waste 34their reactions generate. In addition to being atom efficient, these reactions can be carried out conveniently by simply mixing the starting materials in one pot. Furthermore, MCRs have long been known as methods to access an extreme diversity of complex molecules, including heterocycles with biological activity.1 MCRs have been used in total synthesis, drug discovery, and bioconjugation. This advantage is made even greater because almost all MCRs make use of common functional groups that can be found on a wide variety of commercially available compounds. The integrative nature of MCRs is increasingly attractive when a rapid increase in molecular diversity is desired. Their convenient setup, one-pot nature, high atom efficiency, and product diversity make MCRs highly desirable to generate bioactive compound libraries. In the most preparatively useful MCRs, a sequence of reversible steps is concluded by an enthalpically driven and irreversible product.2
